REVIEW: The Jellybricks, SoapOpera (Rite-Off Records)
- Dan Enright
With this second release on the Badlees private label Rite-Off Records, the Jellybricks ( http://www.thejellybricks.com ) have honed their artschool pop influences -- that creative surge in pop that occurred 20 years ago in pockets of England (the Clash, the Jam, Joe Jackson, and most obviously Elvis Costello) and the U.S. (Steely Dan, Husker Du, The Replacements, Graham Parker) -- into a strong collection of hard-edged pop songs.
The songwriting and performances are tight, melodic and inventive. Complimented by the production team (Dale Epperson & Robert Welsh) at the Green Room in Harrisburg, Penn. (more on Harrisburg later), the result is 45 minutes of great music.
The songs are lyrically clever, like Costello's writing with the Attractions; the old boy-meets-girl-means-doom chestnut is pushed and pulled into new territories. Band mates Larry Kennedy, Garrick Chow, Bryce Connor and Laine Wehler have collaborated to create this collection of insightful, intelligent, witty -- even a bit sarcastic at times -- short stories set to music and told in three or four minutes.
There are a broad array of styles, all of them "radio friendly" (in a good way). "Bittersweet Day," for example, has a great melodic hook which sweetly links the verses to the chorus and takes the edge off the protagonist's cold, empty lament, "You were the first one listening to someone with nothing to say," then the perfectly dissonant, "bittersweet day." It's a gentle & sympathetic tale about surviving the depression following a relationship break up, featuring tightly voiced pop harmonies.
Three and a half "schizophrenic" [default running order] minutes later, they're blistering through "Mite" as fast and lean and angry as anything the Replacements or the Clash ever released. The opening lyrics, "jammin' me in like I waste your time/makin' me feel like I'm asinine" or "...with eyes revolting red with all the things you said" are prime examples of the approach to writing these guys have taken.
And the album is overloaded, on every song, with more of the same.
They're getting good reviews for the energy of their live performances and the arrangements hint at the possibility the songs could be expanded, ala jam-bands like Phish or Government Mule, during live performances. By continuing to polish their songwriting and performance skills and expanding their attention beyond clever laments / rants (la'rants?) of love lost, they could lead a major expansion of the pop-genre envelope. They're certainly pushing it hard enough.
If you like this kind of music, catch this band now, at the beginning of their career. It'll save you the heartache of trying to find their indie discs, secondhand.
Back to Harrisburg: Potential Scene Alert. Harrisburg appears to be in the early stages of building and nurturing an original music community. From what I can gather, they've got everything necessary for that kind of creativity to bloom -- and I mean on the level of Seattle, Minneapolis, Boston, or Cleveland. There are a sizeable collection of talented, proficient musicians and songwriters, co-operative regional radio playlists (WQXA-FM), a supportive (and affordable) studio (the Green Room) staffed by an experienced group of producers/engineers/perfomers, sizeable cities with numerous clubs/theaters within a couple hours drive (Allentown, Philadelphia, New York City) and a seasoned management team (One Louder Management) to help guide the resulting professional careers.
If the market doesn't get flooded by heroin (or receive meddling corporate attention), it should produce some outstanding music over the next decade. I suggest taking "Made in Harrisburg" -- and this latest, of the city's emerging bands -- seriously.
